Interlude
by Pampermousse
Summary: 24 hours with Chloe and Lex - COMPLETE
1. Default Chapter

Chloe trudged down the road trying to re-capture the buzz of a couple of hours ago. Difficult, considering the seemingly endless walk home and the glorious view of miles of farmed land which never ceased to delight her. Except not. At all.  
  
She had been so psyched about the interview this morning. She had managed to get an interview with Bradford Jones, proprietor of the Daily Planet. She had read an interview with him praising teenage journalistic initiatives and thought she'd take him up on his fancy words and see whether he would follow it up in practice by granting her an audience. The fact that he had, had made her think that he must be pretty cool and that he'd be a great subject for an interview. She snorted in disgust. What he proved to be was an obnoxious ass. Lecturing, patronising and a bit too enamoured with his foghorn voice. Heroes are there to disappoint she thought for the 100th time that day. They were all so annoyingly human, no- one seemed to live up to the great vision you had in your head. Why was it 90% of people at the top were such mediocre excuses for human beings?  
  
Running her fingers through her hair she paused on the road. Looking around at the expanse of brown fields she shuddered. All this farm. How could there be so much farm. It completely wasn't a stupid idea to try and walk the remaining distance from where she insisted she was dropped off. Seriously, she was enjoying this walk, this...jaunt to Smallville under the hot hot sun.  
  
"Oh gross." She was getting smelly. There was distinct dampness forming under her white shirt. "This is wonderful" she thought, could I be more elegant and sophisticated? Stuck to my pants, smelling like a farm animal and still another 2 miles to go. She couldn't imagine Lana in this position. At least not without a damn good near death experience to explain it.  
  
She heard an engine in the background. Straightening her back she started to walk more purposefully, trying to look like there was a definite reason for her walking on an empty road at 3 in the afternoon, and it was a very good, important one. In fact, she was so purposeful for her...purpose that she wasn't even thinking about the fact that she was the only human in a 5 mile radius. She was hoping that she was giving off this impression when she heard the car slow down behind her. Rolling her eyes and clenching her fists she continued walking.  
  
"Chloe?"  
  
Turning around she saw his Royal Baldness. "My knight in shining armour...you've come to save me" Might as well start as she meant to continue. Disrespectfully that is.  
  
Trademark smirk in place "Oh, no rescuing intended. I was just stopping for a chat, I'm about to get going now" he teased.  
  
"You should really trademark that smirk Lex, and the humour, don't forget the humour" she snarked opening the door to the Porsche and getting in. She sunk into the leather seats sighing contentedly at the whoosh of AC hitting her face. Money had its uses she thought. Or rather, knowing money had its uses.  
  
"Interesting choice of activity for a Saturday afternoon" Lex deadpanned. "I see you chose the scenic route"  
  
Chloe looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Well, I always did have a thing for Kansas countryside, that fresh manure air and all"  
  
Lex smiled or rather relaxed his face to look less intense than usual which she supposed was just as good.  
  
"So did you have some big interview in Metropolis?" he asked looking over her smart attire "and more to the point, who has supplanted me as prime interview material?"  
  
Chloe had to admire the way Lex could infuse so much emotion and hidden meaning into an emotionless voice. He made everything sound so naughty. It must take a lot of practice.  
  
"Bradford Jones, Proprietor of the Daily Planet, Very Important Person. Also Very Obnoxious Boring Ass" She said rolling her eyes. "He spent the entire time lecturing me on the importance of Bradford Jones and dropping names like there was no tomorrow. Seriously I haven't seen such superior behaviour since..." she looked over to him slyly and winked. She smiled to show that she was joking...sort of.  
  
"I've actually taken that as a compliment so don't worry about it" Lex replied  
  
"So what about you? Why Lex, come to think of it, you look almost casual" She raised her eyebrows in mock horror. "You do know about that thing called denim don't you?" She looked over his grey trousers and black tee- shirt. "They even have really expensive brands that you rich people can buy"  
  
"Urgent business at the office" he said suppressing a smile. Always an amusing companion he thought.  
  
They were coming up to the Talon and she asked to be dropped off there. Stopping the car he leaned over her and opened her door. "Nice cologne"  
  
"Why, thank you" He replied smoothly, hiding his surprise at her comment. He found it difficult to predict Chloe.  
  
"Thanks Lex. Joking aside, I was beginning to feel a little woozy out there."  
  
"Always a pleasure" he replied, with equal sincerity  
  
"And don't worry about being surpassed as my top interview, I'm just working on you in another way" Chloe said, smiling, before heading into the Talon. 


	2. Chapter 2

Lex thought about what Chloe had said on the drive back to the manor. He knew Bradford Jones slightly and the times he had met him had been impressed at how cultured and mannered he was. Maybe Chloe had caught him on a bad day or maybe she had been a bit too nosy. Either way, it was interesting to know about this other side of the man. Information he would have to keep stored up for later. At the moment he had more important things to worry about than dual personality newspaper barons.  
  
Turning off the engine he noticed something glinting on the floor on the passenger side. Leaning over he picked up a disk labelled CHLOE. With a smile that quickly turned into a grin, he dropped it in his pocket and made his way inside.  
  
Chloe frantically searched her room. "No way. There is no way" she kept repeating as if that would make the disk turn up. Dropping it in Metropolis, someone crushing it with some muddy boot and it falling into the sewage system was a fate better than it being in the hands of Lex Luthor. Semi-wailing she dragged herself from the floor and sunk deep into her bed. This was not good. Not good at all. That disk had her ideas for stories and Luthercorp featured heavily. Lying quietly for a few minutes, she composed herself and thought of a strategy, before leaping up and heading to the manor.  
  
Lex toyed briefly with the idea of respecting Chloe's privacy before inserting CHLOE into his laptop. Maybe briefly was overstating it slightly. Making sure he was comfortable in his chair he browsed through the folders. He wasn't expecting to find anything mind blowing but from his limited contact with Chloe he knew she was tenacious and intelligent and that she may have picked up some gems that she may not even know the significance of. A large yellow icon bearing the name Luthercorp flashed out at him. Settling further into his chair his eyes narrowed in total concentration.  
  
'Damage Limitation' was the one thought going through Chloe's mind. It was a given that Lex would have gone through the disc and seen her notes on Lionel and the company. There was a lot of rambling in there and she had been careful to code the sensitive stuff. All the true gold dust was in her head. She had received some news of some very dodgy dealings by Luthercorp which potentially ran into drug running, and not the asprin kind. She had read enough crime novels to know that many saw a foray into the wonderful world of crack as a bad business move leaving you unnecessarily open to the authorities. Although she wasn't surprised someone as arrogant as Lionel would forego such mortal concerns. She was also pretty certain that Lex had no idea this was going on. She would have to tread carefully with the bald one.  
  
"Chloe, this is a pleasant surprise...twice in day, I'm flattered" Lex said looking up and leaning back into his chair.  
  
"Now that you've had a good snoop, can I have my disc back please? Don't even bother denying it by the way, I would actually think less of you if you hadn't gone through it" Chloe retorted.  
  
"Some interesting thoughts on this" He said handing it back to her, "Have you got anything to back them up with?"  
  
"I plead the fifth, and since all the most interesting thoughts were in code, I know you're playing me and trying to find out more" Chloe snatched the disc back and stuffed it in her pocket. Her zip pocket. Not the fool twice she thought.  
  
"I think you're underestimating me" Lex replied looking at her intensely.  
  
"Maybe, but I think not. Unless you have developed special powers that enable you to read the made up language of Chloe, I think I'm pretty safe."  
  
Walking out she turned, "And Lex, that whole intense, hypno thing you have going really has no effect on me, just a heads up for future reference."  
  
Lex couldn't quite stop the smile from coming out. "I'll remember that."  
  
"You do that Luthor, you do that." She smiled in return and walked out. 


	3. Chapter 3

From the very little that Lex had said, Chloe knew that he must have seen something of interest on the disk. She was pretty certain that he did not know the particulars but she had been sufficiently excited to put down "Oh my God, this is so huge" type comments which would do a Valley girl proud. One of the items of gold dust however, that was nicely ensconced in her mind was an important meeting between Lionel Luthor and some underworld shady tonight. It was already 7pm. That did not leave her much time to get into her cat burglar outfit also known as the "How it sucks to be a teenager outfit of pain". All black and somehow still not at all chic. She was just doomed to have an "interesting" style for life. At least she avoided pink, she thought. Rushing up to her room she threw off her clothes and jumped into the shower.  
  
She felt herself relax and her head start to clear. She thought back to the Manor. Lex was always fun. She wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but he was fun. She liked having someone to spar with now and then and not have to worry about giving offence. She had her alibi with her dad planned for tonight. She was having a girl's night in Metropolis with Lois. Turning around to let the water massage her back she thought about the plan. Lionel and Mr Shady were meeting in a multi storey car park at 10pm. "How very Deep Throat of them" she thought again. You'd think these criminal masterminds could be a bit original.  
  
By the time Lex pulled into the car park it was 9.45. He was driving something very far removed from his normal mode of transport and possibly the smallest car Lex had ever driven. He wanted to blend into the plebeian background of Car Park 5. He reversed into a space on the fifth floor, switched off his lights and waited. The place was empty save for a few vehicles. It hadn't been too difficult to find out Chloe's "Mr Shady." She'd let a few minor but important clues escape the made up language of Chloe as she had so charmingly put it. After that he had found out about this meeting by bribing a few good citizens of Metropolis. He liked to think of it as giving away unasked for gifts. He spotted someone behind a column. Opening his door he quietly stepped out.  
  
"Damn stupid phone" Chloe whispered furiously to the cell phone in her hand. She was trying to figure out how to use the camera function when she felt an arm grab her from behind. Reacting quickly she turned and raised her leg, kicking her assailant in the balls.  
  
"Oh shit. Lex?" she asked to the doubled up figure on the asphalt. "I am so sorry!" She started walking towards him with what she hoped was a Florence Nightingale expression on her face.  
  
"Chloe. Stay there!" He said, raising his hands in warning. "I'm going to need a few minutes"  
  
Chloe looked at him sceptically. She couldn't believe how sensitive those...nether regions were. He looked like he was dying. Probably overreacting she thought, but this is Lex Luthor. He barely reacts let alone over reacts. She had kicked Lex Luthor in the balls. Hm. Ok, she was starting to feel a tiny bit bad.  
  
"Lex, someone's coming" Chloe whispered hearing a car. Ninety per cent recovered, Lex grabbed Chloe and pushed them both into a utility closet which instead of utility seemed to consist of a couple of tyres and water. Smelly water. Yellow smelly water. "Repress Chloe, Repress" she told herself. It was also very very dark.  
  
"Well, this is the stuff of nightmares, stuck in a confined space with you" she hissed. "Why the hell did you drag us in here for? I'm guessing you're here for the same reason I am, and that would work a whole lot better if I could see or hear the conversation on the other side of the door" She continued.  
  
"Shh" was Lex's one syllable reply.  
  
People were standing very close to the door. That much they could hear. Actual conversation? Not so much. More like a whining hum. Chloe for the first time registered the position they were in. Facing each other, with ears pressed to the skanky door. There was also a proximity issue. Chloe moved away and walked the 1 metre to the other end of the "room."  
  
This wasn't going to work, thought Lex. As much as it pained him to admit, Chloe was right. They were stuck here in what could only be described as a piss filled four by four box with the reason for them being here tantalisingly out of reach.  
  
Jesus Christ who knew Chloe could kick that hard Lex thought for the tenth time. He looked over to her leaning against the wall with her eyes closed trying to block everything out.  
  
"Whatever you may think, it's a good thing I got to you in time. If I spotted you, my father and his delinquent friend definitely would have done."  
  
"Mmm, whereas your cunning disguise of a BIG BALD head would have blended beautifully into the concrete walls." Chloe retorted in absolutely no mood for Lex.  
  
"You'd be surprised at how versatile it is" Lex replied smoothly, eliciting a reluctant smile from Chloe.  
  
"How did you find out about this? I thought I was pretty stealthy with my codes"  
  
"You were, but I already had prior suspicions. You just confirmed them."  
  
Chloe looked at Lex carefully trying to gauge a reaction. The cool veneer was still in place although there was slight human emotion creeping out. And wait...was that sweat?!  
  
"Lex, you're perspiring! Like a real boy." Chloe said pointing and smiling.  
  
"I'm not a big fan of enclosed spaces" He replied.  
  
"Who is? Except in sex dreams. Then, it's hot." Chloe said picking her foot off the ground to imagine the underside of her shoe. Gross. There was stickiness.  
  
"Lex, get a grip. I'm sixteen not twelve. And you're 22 not my Dad" She said at his raised eyebrow.  
  
Chloe was a weird one. It was funny that she thought he was patronising her as she was the only one of Clark's friends that he didn't. When she was challenging people and to be fair that was the extent of their interaction, she looked years older. The whole expression of her face changed and Lex could speak to her as an equal.  
  
Lex could see that she was stressed about missing the meeting and felt a bit bad for her. He was slightly more relaxed as he had one of his little helpers out there recording everything. He had just wanted to come along to witness the meeting for himself. Of course he was keeping that piece of information to himself.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang. Chloe was about to enact his first instinct of opening the door when he grabbed her wrist on the door knob just in time. "That wouldn't be smart" He said listening for further noise. Hearing a car drive off, he slowly opened the door and stepped out keeping Chloe behind him. They were both gone. Relaxing a little he looked over at his partner in crime and she was already busy scoping the area. His cell rang and from the caller ID he could see that it was his little helper.  
  
Chloe looked up as she saw Lex answering his cell. She frowned as she saw his expression darken. He hung up quickly and said that they needed to get out of here pronto as one of the goons was making his way back up having forgotten something. Chloe couldn't help it; she quickly scanned the area around them looking for whatever it was that this guy had dropped. She looked across to see Lex doing the same. "Great minds" she thought. She could now hear a car coming up through the levels. Jesus. Lex and his bald head. They could conceivably hide if it wasn't for the beacon of baldness. As if reading her thoughts he pulled out a beanie hat from his pocket. This was too much. Lex had a HAT??!!! Before she could let loose with an insult she saw the car driving up the ramp onto the fifth floor.  
  
Looking helplessly at Lex she ran behind a pillar pulling him on her way. Chloe could hear the goon stepping out from his car and walking dangerously close to where they were standing. Her heart was beating very fast yet she felt compelled to peer round the pillar and see exactly what shady had dropped. Lex gripped her arm more tightly and looked at her giving her a barely perceptible shake of the head. The guy seemed to be circling ever closer and Lex pulled her closer towards him so they were as flat against the pillar as possible. Looking down at her she looked scared and exhilarated at the same time. He was in a state of high alert poised for violence or just plain old fashioned running if they were spotted. He was impressed at how well she was handling herself. Although he maintained a firm grip on her arm just in case.  
  
This was a little too close for comfort or any rational thought, Chloe thought. In the movies these situations were the ones where you realised that latent attraction for your partner in crime and the whole danger situation becomes incredibly erotic. Unfortunately, in reality it just seemed dangerous...and a bit uncomfortable. She did not know Lex nearly well enough to be sharing squishy body parts with him. He of course seemed perfectly serene. The footsteps were getting further away and Chloe was dying of curiosity to see what the big goon had dropped. This night was one frustration after another. Hearing a car door open and an engine start Lex relaxed his grip on her arm and Chloe took a step back in relief.  
  
"Shit, that was close. In more ways than one..." She said glancing up at him.  
  
Lex looked amused but only asked, "Not too much of a traumatic experience I hope?"  
  
"Well, the nearly being killed was kind of exciting, the close proximity to you I'll have to get back to you about. When the nightmares start"  
  
"That's one kind of dream you could have..."Lex said raising his eyebrow suggestively.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes, glad they were back to their usual bantering. That whole episode had actually been pretty frightening. Not that she'd let Lex see that.  
  
"Where did you park your car?" she asked changing the subject.  
  
"It's just around the corner. Let me give you a lift back and I'll have your car driven back to you tomorrow." Lex said in what he hoped was a don't argue back voice which was difficult with Chloe  
  
"Thanks" Chloe said sincerely.  
  
She must have been more scared than she's letting on Lex thought. He suddenly felt very protective of her. Lex quickly shaked that disturbing thought from his body.  
  
Starting the engine he looked over at her. She had a pensive look on her face and again seemed years older than 16.  
  
Turning towards Lex, Chloe asked, "Lex, how do you feel about your father getting involved in this? I mean really." She was genuinely curious to know and it was one human being to another.  
  
"I'm not surprised by anything he does. I admit I find this a little below his usual standards but I'm not surprised"  
  
"How awful not to be surprised by someone." was all she said. She leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes listening to the soothing hum of the engine.  
  
Lex glanced across at her. What a strange girl he thought. He seemed to have to work a lot harder at being one step ahead and manipulative with Chloe. She brought out something genuine in him. Be it genuine irritation or respect, it was still genuine.  
  
Easing into her driveway he gently shaked her awake. She opened her eyes sleepily and Lex was again struck at how much older she seemed. She was one of those lucky people with many faces he felt.  
  
Looking into Lex's eyes in her sleep daze Chloe felt a little something. Probably the danger and adrenaline of the last few hours catching up on her, not to mention the bad B movie storyline scenarios they had gotten into but he looked...real. She felt the real Lex Luthor was standing up. Quick as a flash she whipped her cell phone out and took a picture. Grinning at his confusion she opened the door and leaning into the car said, "I think that I just got my real exclusive. I don't think anyone else will appreciate it though. If they did I could see the headline, The man behind the mask." She smiled knowingly at him and as a parting gift shouted, "You should let that poor guy out more often. He's kind of cute" winking she turned and ran up to her door.  
  
Lex looked at the closed door for a long moment before turning his lips in a smile and speeding off. 


End file.
